Ben White has been spotted distracting goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario before Arsenal’s opening goal in the North London derby.
The Gunners are taking on bitter rivals Tottenham and they raced into a dominant 3-0 lead in the first half.
Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka got on the scoresheet but the opening goal came from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg turning the ball into his own net.
The opener happened with Saka’s whipped corner hitting Hojbjerg and beating Vicario at his near post.
The Italian goalkeeper looked as if he couldn’t have done anything about it but replays showed he may have been distracted.
As White stood awaiting the cross into the box, he was stood behind Vicario and began to eye up his gloves.
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After a glance at them, he seemed to stick his hand out and try to unstrap one of the Spurs man’s gloves.
His attempt was unsuccessful but it forced Vicario to turn around and wave his arm in the air to get him off.
Seconds later, Hojbjerg’s deflection would sneak in at the near post to open the scoring for Arsenal.
Gunners fans loved White’s attempt to distract Vicario, with one posting on social media: “Benny loves to employ the dark arts.”
Another wrote: “Vicario was clueless for a minute!”
“He’s a menace and we love him for it,” a third Arsenal fan said.
Before a fourth posted: “Ben White’s trick of unsettling the goalkeeper yielding results once again.”
The own goal that followed White’s antics was the beginning of a superb half from Arsenal.
They took control of the north London derby and cruised into a 3-0 lead at half time, however, Spurs have since pulled two back to make it 3-2.
The first came from Cristian Romero after Gunners goalkeeper David Raya gave the ball straight to the Argentine defender before Heung-min Son scored from the penalty spot.
Mikel Arteta’s side are in desperate need of a crucial three points in the Premier League title race to move four clear of Manchester City, who play Nottingham Forest later on Sunday.
News Summary:
- Ben White appears to try and take Guglielmo Vicario’s glove off before Arsenal opener in north London derby
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